My father stood by his story that I was named after a 1940’s stripper until his death. I never had the heart to tell him that his claim did not hold up to an internet search. I learned Toni Seven was a starlet, but clearly, his version is so much better than the truth. I’m…
There are typically three options when it comes to organizing a collection of short stories. An editor can have the writers come to them by establishing a call for submissions, or they can contact the authors directly in order to publish current stories. The third option is to find the right authors and then build…
Hello, friends, let me tell you about myself, why I write, and why you might want to read my books. My name is Elisabeth Zguta. I grew up in a small town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Since then I’ve lived in many places; currently, I live in the Memphis area. I am an Indie author…
Finding a new book is a challenge, especially when you’ve explored an entire genre, and you’re getting close to running out of ideas on what to read next. One of the best ways to find a new book to enjoy is to ask the people that know best. By reading reviews, you can find some…
Two quotes by Hunter S. Thompson sum up my youth and my writing: “Truth is weirder than any fiction I’ve seen” and “It never got weird enough for me.” I was fascinated with people, but I quickly grew bored with ordinary life. I went off exploring other worlds: criminals, gangs, commies, Birchers, hippies, drug dealers,…
Now that the new Vietnam War documentary by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick is running on PBS, that most difficult time in American history is once again before us. However, when I saw us so easily fall into fighting in Iraq, I couldn’t help but wonder had our politicians forgotten about our quagmire in Southeast…
“Why do you like vampires? What’s so special about them? Why read about them? What’s so appealing?” Thus do the philistines speak. What’s so appealing about literary vampires? Let me count the ways… …by doing a bit of history… The literary vampire didn’t begin to flourish until the mid-1880s. I’ve heard it said that before…
The eerie feel of autumn swoops in on the wings of birds and insects as they fly south for the winter on nature’s highways. Seasonal decorations grace the shelves of stores all around America, and the excited chatter of children turn from the latest toys to this year’s costumes. When the leaves fall and the…
I am going to share with you the reason behind my first novel and subsequent books as well as the important part that music always plays whenever I start writing a novel. Back in 1992, I was 19 years old and still grieving for my first love who had destroyed my life two years before.…
In my historical novel Neespaugot: The Legend of the Indian’s Coin, Runinniduk, the Native American forefather of the story, is awarded one of the first coins minted in the New World for his help in translating the Holy Bible into Algonquian. Bearing the seal of Massachusetts Bay Colony, the coin is subsequently passed down from…
